Going on a cruise with kids can be stressful. Parents want to have a good time without the kids along with having some quality family time. I have been on many cruises before – never Disney Cruise line. However, on my recent trip on the Disney Dream, I was able to utilize their Oceaneers Club for both my nine-year-old and four-year-old.
Prior to our trip, I worked with my Travel Agent and Disney Cruise Line to devise a plan for my children as they both have special needs. My son is still in pull-ups due to his disability, and normally, pull-ups are not allowed in the club. However, once explaining this to the Cruise Line, arrangements were made to accommodate having my son partake in the fun. Disney Cruise Line made notes about my son in the system concerning his disability and even gave us a Diaper Genie for our room. We were told that we had to check on him and my daughter about every hour. We used the Disney Chat feature on the DCL app to communicate along with calling.
On our embarkation day, we went to the Oceaneers Club to attend the Open House that they were running. We registered the kids, they received Magic Bands, reviewed their needs, and were allowed entry into the club to check it out with the kids.
How immersive and expansive it truly was! There were different sections with different theming including a Disney Infinity Room, Andy’s Room, a tree-lined forest complete with Tinkerbell in the lamps, a Star Wars interactive area, a light-up dance floor, and an area with video games and televisions. I was very impressed by the cast members and the areas for my children to play in. Having used the Kids Club on other cruise lines, I could truly see what the hype was about for Disney’s club for kids.
The activities for the Club were noted on the Disney Cruise Line app daily and hourly. There were science experiments, character interactions, dance parties, pajama parties, and more. My kids enjoyed every minute of it and longed to go multiple times a day.
Another perk of the Club is that on Castaway Cay, there is a separate area for the kids in the Club run by the same people on the ship. My kids got to know some of the cast members that worked on the ship and were greeted by name on the island. They had a cute play area for them to splash around in along with fun activities on the island.
My daughter was very upset her cruise was over on the last night because she had made a connection with one of the cast members, Nicole. Nicole hugged my daughter and also wrote a lovely note and gifted my daughter some items by leaving them at our door on the last night of our cruise. She told my daughter that it was kids like her that truly make her job special. I cried reading the letter. How thoughtful!
I would recommend using the Oceaneer’s Club when on a Disney Cruise Line ship with your children. Not only will the adults get to have an amazing childless time, but the kids will have such a splendid time in the club.
Disney Cruise Line truly does it right when it comes to clubs for kids. On other cruise lines, I’ve sailed on, the kids club had limited hours and not nearly as many fun activities as there were on the Disney Dream. Also, the safety of checking the kids in and out is a lifesaver. When you go on your next Disney Cruise Line ship, make sure to sure the Oceaneer’s Club to give your kids a truly magical experience.
Have you traveled on the Disney Dream? Let us know in the comments.
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